[At a time when the Liberals have announced the once in a generation financial opportunity of LNG, it's worth reminding ourselves of what happened to the last Liberal financial opportunity of a lifetime. *RON*]
BY MARVIN SHAFFER, FEBRUARY 7, 2014

British Columbians no doubt feel thankful that the costs, security and other challenges facing the Sochi Winter Olympic Games far surpass what B.C. and Canada faced with the Vancouver-Whistler 2010 Games. But the 2010 Games were not without controversy and still raise the question of whether it was all worthwhile. Unfortunately, at least from a public policy perspective, that fundamental question was never properly addressed.

See the original article here.[A good article on some of the general ins and outs of using the GDP as a measure or progress. *RON*]Measure a country purely in terms of its GDP and you neglect the wellbeing of its people. Yet can that be measured?

Diane Coyle is a freelance economist and former advisor to the UK Treasury. She runs the consultancy Enlightenment Economics. Her book, GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History, is published this month.

Have we reached the end of progress? Today, this lodestar of the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution is shining less brightly than at any time in the past 200 years. And our principal measure of progress – gross domestic product (GDP) – seems particularly tarnished. Growing numbers of people are asking whether economic growth, measured by whether GDP is going up, should be the main priority of governments. Aren't the environmental costs of growth too high? Is higher GDP worthwhile if it all goes to the rich? …

The Clark Govt has once again delayed the announcing its LNG royalty regime (Tina Lovgreen / BCIT)

British Columbians have been patiently waiting since before the Liberals were re-elected for an explanation of the financial terms that will deliver the much-vaunted 100 Billion-dollar LNG “Prosperity Fund” that will allegedly eliminate the provincial debt, lower taxes and underwrite the services we have come to rely on.

BC’s Minister for Natural Gas Development Rich Coleman has repeatedly committed to divulging the terms and conditions he intends to legislate into perpetuity since being re-elected based on these promises. We’ve been told that by slashing royalties and taxes, BC will win the global competition for attracting foreign investment in LNG pipelines and terminals.

From the beginning, we've developed a rigorous economic and fiscal framework for our Budget; and we have acquired an enviable reputation for more accurately forecasting fiscal balances than the Department of Finance. Organizers of a recent international conference in Berlin recently called our alternative budget the leading example of its kind in the world. Former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page has praised it, as have many academic economists.

Budgets are about choices -- choices that reflect the values and priorities of the governments that produce them. Our AFB reflect…

The Conservative government on Tuesday tabled their so-called Fair Elections Act in the House of Commons -- 70 weeks late.

Pierre Poilievre, the minister of state for democratic reform, claimed the changes will "increase democracy." Twenty-four hours later, Poilievre moved on Wednesday to cut off the democratic debate about the bill in the House of Commons.

That's not the government's only instance of doublespeak on this file.

Given the Conservatives' track record of ignoring or circumventing Canada's electoral law, it's worth fact-checking the spin, so here are five things you need to know about the legislation.